Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury Reviews Summary

Relevance to Modern Society

Pros:

• "This book is not futuristic, it is a satirical picture of today."
• "I think this makes the book MORE rather than LESS impactful because you can already see some manifestations of what's described."
• "It's all too scary that many aspects of the novel are mirrored in our current world."
• "So relevant to todays political situation in several states."
• "This is so timely. Bradbury was writing of a dystopian society, but I see so many parallels with today's headlines."
• "The whole crowd screaming about banning books are the ones who are banning speech in general."
• "The level of political correctness has reached a seemingly all-time high in our society today."

Cons:

• "Would I recommend this book to friends? No. Unless they want to be a little disturbed."
• "Skip and find more interesting books."
• "The characters are one-dimensional and unrelatable."
• "The beauty of the novel is not in the plot, which is linear and dull, but with the descriptions of actions and scenery."
• "I feel like this far fetched idea of this story would fail at such a task."
• "Does anyone really think the idea of being wed to the TV was some kind of awesome prediction."
• "To younger audiences, the novel will likely prove tedious and unfulfilling."

Character Development and Storytelling

Pros:

• "Seeing Montag free himself gave me hope that the 'everyman' can be the rebel in his own quiet way."
• "The main character Montag undergoes a character transformation as he begins to starts to read books banned by the government."
• "The characters represent a greater human thirst for knowledge and beauty, which resonates with the reader."
• "Montag goes through a process similar to the reader as his ideas transform, and he resists the laws in his society."
• "All goes well for Guy Montag until he meets Clarisse, a 16 year old neighbor who opens his eyes to the lack of real relationships, love, and intellectual thought."
• "The characters, especially Guy Montag, are well-developed and undergo compelling transformations throughout the story."
• "He uses a combination of Faber’s intelligence and Clarisse’s intuitive unorthodox attitude to create himself."

Cons:

• "However, I found my second reading to be somewhat disappointing and I ended up feeling sorry for many of the unintelligent characters."
• "This novel, long called a classic, is far too short."
• "The characters are well developed, but some are intentionally left undeveloped."
• "The development of the protagonist is very detailed throughout the book, and the setting is a very tangible futuristic dystopia."
• "But sadly, neither did the characters, none of whom were fleshed out or really developed."
• "Montag is kind of a hollow shell in search of a personality, and his wife, Mildred, is a hollow shell who is boring and dim-witted."
• "It helps give these characters a one dimensional personality, achieving the effect of a shallow, unemotional dystopia."

Writing Style and Narrative

Pros:

• "The story is very thought provoking and it requires a very attentive reader."
• "The increasing dehumanization of communication, entertainment, and the mass media further solidifies Bradbury’s novel as an enduring and real indication of what could be if we are not careful."
• "Everyone should read this book again as an adult... It amazes me how many things which were 'futuristic' when the book was written, are now part of our lives."
• "Fahrenheit 451 is a book that offers a thought-provoking and chilling glimpse into a dystopian future."
• "Fahrenheit 451 teaches that the loss of ideas and real interaction may lead to the loss of humanity as a whole."
• "The book effectively paints this futuristic world while still leaving room for the reader’s interpretations, this being something very few authors can do."
• "Bradbury writes with imagination and depth of a society that becomes complacent and forgets to honor the freedom and wisdom that books and other similar mediums convey."

Cons:

• "I hope this is not supposed to convince generations to not burn books."
• "This is one of those books with so much power that it becomes more and more relevant as time goes on."
• "As far as the book goes, it teaches young minds about censorship and how they should use their own minds to come to conclusions in life and not merely be led astray by basically anyone."
• "Bradbury simply does not know how to write an attention-grabbing, interesting plot-twisting novel."
• "Bradbury does not do a well job giving description or explaining this futuristic lifestyle."
• "The only plot is a man that burns books and that is it."
• "The story is blandly told, with little to no elaboration."